Hillsborough Real Estate - April 2012

Modest Sales Pickup in Last Two Months

After a very quiet start to the year in Hillsborough, sales activity has picked up in the last two months. In April 2012 there were 14 homes sold. In the first four months of 2012, there have been 35 homes sold, down from 40 in the same period in 2011. (Keep in mind that 137 homes were sold in 2011, the most since 2005, so the 2012 sales pace is not too slow).

Some of the slow-down in sales activity might be related to the constrained level of inventory. At the end of April 2012, there were 55 homes for sale in Hillsborough.  At the same point last there were 66 homes for sale and in 2010 there were 77 homes left unsold at the end of April. With less available inventory, buyers are not as easily able to find homes that meet their requirements, pushing down the number of transactions.

Prices Appear Steady

On a 12 month moving average basis, median and average selling values have been relatively flat over the past half-year. An average home in Hillsborough will still set you back about $2.5 million for about 4,000 square feet (along with the excellent schools, large lots and safe surroundings).

A big driver of the total cost of a home in Hillsborough is the large size of homes in the city. The average price per square foot is about $680, approximately 10 percent higher than in neighboring Burlingame. However, because the average home sold in Hillsborough is 4,000 square feet, versus just under 2,000 square feet in Burlingame, the difference in average selling values is more than 100 percent.

One sign pointing towards firmer selling values is that the average sales price to list price ratio in the first four months of 2012 is at the highest level since 2008. Interestingly, the ratio is typically below 100% in Hillsborough (even in the boom years of 2004 and 2005 when prices were rising sharply). This suggests that even in a normal market in Hillsborough, sellers accept offers below their asking price. In 2012, the ratio has been 96.6%, and it was as low as 94.5% in 2009.

 

Thinking of buying or selling a home in Hillsborough?

If you're interested in learning more about the Hillsborough real estate market, considering selling your home in Hillsborough, or thinking about moving to Hillsborough, please drop me a line and I'd love to connect with you.

By The Numbers - Hillsborough Real Estate for 2012